Richard Langham Smith (born 10 September 1947,

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is an English

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

who has written on

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and contemporary

French music ''French music'' may refer to: *Music of France, music of the French people in France ''French music'' may also refer to the music of French-speaking countries: * Music of Quebec, music of the French-Canadians in Canada, most often Québécois or ...

in general. For his contribution to the latter he was admitted to rank of Chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. Educated in music at

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

, Richard Langham Smith then pursued further study with

Wilfrid Mellers Wilfrid Howard Mellers (26 April 1914 – 17 May 2008) was an English music critic, musicologist and composer. Early life Born in Leamington, Warwickshire, Mellers was educated at the local Leamington College and later won a scholarship to Dow ...

and Debussy scholar

Edward Lockspeiser Edward Lockspeiser (21 May 19053 Feb 1973) was an English musicologist, composer, art critic and radio broadcaster on music who specialized in the works and life of French composer Claude Debussy and was considered one of the few British authoriti ...

as well as studying harpsichord and Baroque performance practice at the

Amsterdam Conservatory The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

. A university teaching career began at

University of Lancaster Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

, then City University, the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, and finally the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

where he was the Arnold Kettle Distinguished Scholar in Music and subsequently Head of Department. At this time he also was a visiting lecturer in Music at the University of Cambridge, teaching a course on French Opera from 1875 to the 21st Century. From September 2008 until July 2010 Smith was Head of the Graduate School at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

, London. In 2011 the RCM appointed him Research Professor in Music and in March 2016 Smith was awarded an FRCM. In addition to Academic teaching he is a lecturer for Martin Randall Travel, a regular broadcaster and lecturer for major concert venues and opera houses.

References

1947 births Living people Academics of City, University of London Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of Lancaster University Academics of the Open University Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the University of York English musicologists Fellows of the Royal College of Music Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Debussy scholars {{Musicologist-stub